Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--The Western New England University baseball team made its home debut Sunday at Pat Ricci Field at Trelease Park, but the Golden Bears battled nationally-ranked Endicott College despite a pair of losses, 2-1 and 6-2, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader. The Gulls, who are 27th in the American Baseball Coaches' Association Top 30 poll, improve to 13-4 on the season, including 5-1 in the CCC, while Western New England falls to 7-11 and 3-4 in the conference.

Junior Steve Buckley and freshman Daniel Morin led WNE with two hits apiece on the afternoon.

It was a pitchers' duel in the first game between Endicott's JJ Branch (3-0) and senior Brendan Nugent (1-4) as both starters went the distance. Branch struck out five and allowed one unearned run with four hits, while Nugent fanned a season-high nine batters--including six through three innings--and gave up four hits.

Western New England struck first in the bottom of the second when Buckley led off the inning by reaching second base on a dropped fly in short left field. Then he advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by senior co-captain Jeff Schult, as he was able to slide safely to avoid the tag. One batter later, junior Matt Anziano drove home Buckley with a sacrifice fly to center.

Endicott was able to tie it in the fourth frame on a RBI-groundout off the bat of Tad Gold. The Gulls got the eventual game-winner on a fielder's choice and throwing error on the same play during the fifth.

Western New England outhit Endicott 4 to 3, as senior co-captain Steve Ambrosino and sophomore Kevin Marciano had singles to join Schult and Morin.

In the second contest, the Golden Bears took a 1-0 advantage on an infield error as Morin was credited with a run batted in.

EJ Martinez tied it 1-1 for the Gulls in the fourth on a RBI-single through the right side. Then in the fifth, Endicott got the go-ahead run when Martinez flew into doubleplay that went for a sacrifice fly to center. Later in the inning, the Gulls got three insurance runs that were all unearned.

Sophomore Chris Casey closed the deficit 5-2 with a RBI-groundout in the home team's bottom half.

Buckley had two of WNE's four hits. Gold led the Gulls at the plate going 3-for-3.

Western New England plays at CCC opponent Salve Regina in Newport, R.I., at 4 p.m. Monday in a make-up date after the teams' second game of a doubleheader was rained out on March 29. The Golden Bears held off the Seahawks in Game 1, 5-4.